Contacting the Branch

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If you have any questions or need any support please contact the Branch Office

 contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

Or you can call 020 8359 2088, if we are unable to answer the telephone please leave a message speaking slowly and clearly please include your name, telephone number, membership number and a brief message about the assistance you require. We will respond as soon as we can.

Alternatively you can contact UNISON Direct Call Centre by telephone 

08000 857 857 Monday – Friday 6am – Midnight, Saturday 9am – 4pm

or make an online enquiry by clicking the following link

https://www.unison.org.uk/get-help/online-enquiries/

To Join UNISON click the following link 

https://join.unison.org.uk/

Consultants are back – Barnet Council award contract to Peopletoo

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Local, News, UNISON Campaign

Barnet Council issued an email to all Barnet Staff about the announcement that they have contracted a consultancy agency Peopletoo

Our members have long memories of what consultants can do to our public services.

We will never forget what happened to our members in Libraries where almost 55% of the workforce were sacked.

We won’t forget the hundreds of redundancies by Capita with the financial support of Barnet Council when they took over our back-office services in 2013.

Back in the late 2000s staff were told that the consultancy company were called in as a critical friend to help support the Council in the future.

16 years later the damage caused by the promotion of some of those ideas is here with us now.

For those who want to know more about the decision to pay Peopletoo can read the report here

Source: Improvement Partner Contract Award, 9 April 2025

https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s89248/Delegated%20Powers%20Report%20-%20Improvement%20Partner%20Final.pdf )

Here are some key facts

The contract is due to commence on May 1, 2025.

The contract is structured in two phases:

  • Stage 1: Diagnostic Phase: This phase has a fixed term price of £652,700. The purpose of this stage is for Peopletoo to conduct a thorough analysis of the council’s operations and finances to identify potential savings and improvements.
  • Stage 2: Delivery Phase: The contract includes an option for Barnet Council to proceed with a Stage 2 delivery phase. The final budget for this phase is contingent on the findings and recommendations of the Stage 1 diagnostic phase.
  • Funding Approval: Barnet Council’s Cabinet approved one-off funding of up to £3 million for both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the improvement partner contract on February 18, 2025. This funding is allocated from the council’s contingency budget for the 2025/26 financial year.

Barnet UNISON hopes that lessons on the use of consultants have been learnt.

Barnet UNISON will be asking for details about Stage 1 shortly.

Keep an eye out in future eNews.

End.

 

“3.2% is not good enough – members deserve better!”

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Demonstration, Disability, Health and Safety, Housing, Libraries, News, Pensions, Schools, Solidarity, TBG Flex, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

The news is that the response of the employers to the joint trade union National Pay claim for £3,000 is 3.2%.

Barnet UNISON members can view what 3.2% means to their grade by clicking on the link below

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/2025/04/24/national-pay-offer-3-2/

UNISON members know that their pay has fallen behind the cost of living and that they are “all now working one day a week for free.”

If we continue to fail to negotiate a pay award that directly deals with the cost-of-living crisis, soon public sector workers will be working “two days a week for free.”

We are in the worst cost-of-living crisis in 77 years.

Politicians seeking to confuse and defend poor pay talk about inflation rates falling as if that has improved things for our members.

Speaking to some of our lowest paid members in care homes, depots, and schools, they are seriously struggling to survive on poverty wages.

Inflation may go up and down, but prices are not going down and they keep rising:

  • 50% rise in local Bus Fares
  • 41% rise in Water Bills
  • 22% rise in Stamp prices
  • 18.4% rise in Energy Bills
  • 16% rise Rail Cards
  • 14% rise in Tuition Fees
  • 4.99% rise in Council Tax
  • 4.6% rise in Rail Fares

Whilst the poor are getting poorer, and the rich are getting richer.

We have been here before in 2009 our Barnet UNISON Branch Secretary set out his serious concerns in a letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown 24 June 2009

“Barnet Council has made efficiency savings of £80.9m over 7 years, £58.8m in the last 5 years” 

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/NO_PRIMEMINISTER_0.pdf

15 years ago, Barnet UNISON had concerns about poverty, privatisation and the emergence of the Far-Right politics. In Barnet Council we had hundreds of redundancies for several years as the Council claimed they were not being funded. Things haven’t changed and we had our first round of redundancies last December due to the current financial crisis.

What is clear is that the voices of our members across the Council across workplaces, be it a school, a depot, care home or day centre need to be heard and LOUDLY.

Barnet Council is lobbying the government for more funding, but there needs to be more pressure than that. We all need to add our voices for more funding

We are asking our members to sign the following Petition to Angela Rayner (who used to be a UNISON rep). This petition is not just for our members but can be signed by members’ family and friends or anyone who wants to see an end to the destruction of public services.

https://chng.it/6DSvxfZqhz

 

end.

 

Important message: Update on Equal Pay

News

Dear Barnet UNISON members

Barnet UNISON has been made aware that the trade union GMB have been visiting some Barnet Schools to explain an Equal Pay claim on behalf of some school support staff against Barnet Council.

UNISON believes that achieving Equal Pay for all employees should be a priority for The London Borough of Barnet and where potential unlawful sex discrimination is occurring, we will take action.

In order to establish the merits of a claim, UNISON has made direct contact with Barnet Council.

A meeting has been agreed with Barnet Council, UNISON and GMB on Wednesday 14 May 2025.

Equal Pay claims are technical claims which can go on for years. UNISON priority to is to establish if there is a claim and if so to try and negotiate an agreement with the employer if possible in order to avoid waiting years for a court date which may or may not be successful.

UNISON has a history of successfully negotiating Equal Pay claims in Barnet in the early 2000’s and we have also successfully managed to secure over a million pounds for our members working in schools over Term Time Pay.

In meantime if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Barnet UNISON branch at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

End.

UNISON comment on Barnet Council Pension Fund Agenda Item 17

Austerity, News, Pensions, Report, UNISON Campaign

On Wednesday 2 April 2025 at Barnet Council Pension Fund Agenda item 17 “Rectification of situation pertaining to prepayments and subsequent repayments between the Council and the Pension Fund”

Source: https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/b41611/Supplemetary%20Agenda%2002nd-Apr-2025%2019.00%20Pension%20Fund%20Committee.pdf?T=9

Below are UNISON comments on the issues contained within the above report:

1. Unlawful Prepayment:

A prepayment of £20,477,000 made in 2020 may have been unlawful. While legal in principle, there’s no documentation showing it was authorised under the Council’s scheme of delegation or approved by any council committee or the Pension Fund Committee. This indicates a serious lack of internal control and proper authorisation.

2. Additional Payments and Repayments:

There were issues with additional payments and repayments between the Council and the Pension Fund, described as “unlawful payments into and out of the Barnet Pension Fund”.

The report discusses options for rectifying this, indicating that the initial actions were incorrect.

3. Lack of Documentation:

The inability to find documentation for the prepayment raises concerns about record-keeping and financial oversight

4. Risk of Tax Implications:

There’s a potential risk of tax liabilities arising from the various rectification options. The council is seeking clarification from HMRC, but the advice received indicates they are proceeding at their own risk.

5. Governance Concerns: The report highlights concerns about governance and the need to clarify the separation between the Pension Fund and the council as an employer.

In summary, the report reveals significant financial mismanagement issues, including potentially unlawful payments, inadequate documentation, and tax risks.

You can listen to the discussion at the start of the meeting here https://aisapps.mediasite.com/AuditelScheduler/Player/Index/?id=9441bcf4-2e3b-41f0-9fe0-7546f554ceaa&presID=588094cfbe6449019e339905e96970fa1d

The next Pension Fund Committee is 16 June 2025


			

		

		
		


	
		
			
	

		
		
Message to all of our Barnet UNISON schools members
		
		
 
	
		Anti - Racism, Austerity, Local, National, News, Schools, UNISON Campaign	



	
		

			
		
					

			


Dear Barnet UNISON


In early February, Barnet UNISON wrote to every school in Barnet seeking permission to speak to our members about the new School Support Staff National Negotiating Body (SSSNB) which will be established for all school support staff in England, including those working in academies and multi academy trusts.


You can view the letter to your school by clicking on the link below.


https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025.01.20-Letter-to-headteacher.pdf


Our Assistant Branch Secretary Beverley Berwick has already started visiting schools speaking with members and the Head about the SSSNB.


This is likely to be the biggest change of our members in schools in a generation which is why we are keen to speak to our members.


If you are interested in helping to arrange a visit in your school, please email contactus@barnetunison.org.uk and request a visit.


 


End.




Background: 


Read more about SSSNB click on link below


https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/SSSNB-members-briefing.pdf

			

		

		
		


	

			  

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